As one out of nine national parks in Taiwan, the Taroko Gorge is a breathtaking sight that easily makes a wondrous weekend trip. 

The last time I was at Taroko Gorge was back in the 80s. Pre-immigration, pre-America. I sported thick glasses, thought pigtails and my knee-high socks were all the rage. My dad drove a boxy Volvo and we roadtripped along the East Coast of Taiwan like no one’s business. The roads inside the national park were so narrow that the edges of marble walls almost scarred the shimmery surface of our car.

Almost four decades later, Taroko Gorge hasn’t changed much. Astonishing, since it’s been around for 200 million years old. It remains to harbor some of Taiwan’s highest peaks, rarest wildlife, and best of all, prettiest hikes. On par with Sun Moon Lake and Alishan, Taroko Gorge is an essential destination on this radiant island.

The best way to reach Taroko National Park from Taipei is by train, which is a two-hour ride from Taipei Station 台北車站, with several stops along the East Coast of Taiwan. The final stop should be Hualien Station 花蓮火車站.

From Hualien Train Station, you can either hail a taxi or arrange a car pickup via hotel reservation. Most hotels will coordinate pickups from the airport or the train station.

Another form of transportation from Taipei to Hualien is by plane, with departure from Songshan Airport 松山機場, arriving at Hualien Airport 花蓮機場. The duration of the flight should be approximately 50 minutes.

You can also rent a car, but it’s not recommended as the windy roads leading up to Taroko Gorge can be narrow and extremely dangerous as they edge along the cliffs. Driving from Taipei to Hualien takes approximately 2h30m, but driving into Taroko Gorge requires an additional hour.

To understand the origin of Taroko Gorge, one must first learn that Taiwan island was created four million years ago, through Penglai Orogeny – the collision of Philippine and Eurasian plates. The impact gave birth to Central Mountain Range which runs through modern-day Taiwan from north to south.

The marble walls that we see at Taroko Gorge today, are calcium carbonates from 230 million years ago. Due to millions of years of erosion, deposits through time, and various elements that continue to lithify through limestone; the combination of deposits and pressures of crashing plates eventually transformed into the marbled gorge.

Taroko National Park was originally established by the Japanese government when Taiwan was under Japan’s colonization in 1937. After WWII, Chiang Kai Shek’s Republic of China party eradicated the park in 1945. Fortunately, the national park was reestablished on November 28th, 1986, covering 360 square miles that stretches from Hualien, Nantou, to Taichung counties.

Today, Taroko Gorge is home to 27 peaks over 9,800 feet and the Truku tribe, an indigenous group that paved way for the name “Taroko” (太魯閣.) Truku is part of 16 tribes in Taiwan and settled in the gorge between 1680 and 1740 after migrating from Nantou’s Sun Moon Lake region. For hunting reasons, the Truku trekked through Central Mountain Range and gradually settled in Hualien. Since they were eventually detached from Atayal 泰雅 indigenous group, the Truku developed their own traditions and customs in Hualien by evenly sharing their land and livestocks while carrying a ferocious yet undivided spirit.